LAS VEGAS -- After beating the Patriots, 28-21, at Foxboro in a divisional playoff game in January 2011, Jets coach Rex Ryan was on top of the world and had dozens of clever sound bites for the media. Ryan was a little more subdued last season, however, after his team was swept by the Patriots.

That is, at least subdued with the media. Last November, when exiting the field to the Jets locker room at halftime while losing, 13-9, at home, Ryan had an exchange with a fan that cost him $75,000.

"Hey Rex, Belichick is better then you," the fan said.

Ryan, continuing to walk, fired back, "Shut the f--- up."

It was classic Ryan. He’s always stirring fans’ emotions, and he invites disparagement by claiming to be the best coach in the NFL and promising to win the Super Bowl — or like this week, when he claimed the Jets would beat the Patriots.

Despite Ryan's confidence, the Patriots are 10.5-point favorites at home against the Jets this week. That’s the most New England has been favored by over the Jets since laying 20 points against them during their undefeated regular season in 2007. It's also the largest spread ever against a Rex Ryan-coached Jets squad. The LVH Super Book opened the game at -12 on Sunday night, and it settled at 10.5, the starting point at which most other books in town began.

"We took sharp money on the Jets at +10.5, moved to 10, but all the small money has been on the Patriots," MGM Resorts race and sports vice president Jay Rood said. "It's going to be one of those lopsided games with the sharps against the public, where we'll be rooting with the sharps."

The chain of MGM Resorts sports books in Las Vegas were the only ones that had -10 on the board through Thursday. Every other book in the city had the Patriots at -10.5.

"This game has the potential to really do some damage to us because of the way the Week 6 schedule shapes up," Rood said. "There are only two afternoon games, which diminishes the normal options bettors have. The public will be on the Patriots and OVER (47) and (will) also side with the Raiders just because the Jaguars are disliked so much. If we don't do well with the eight early games and the Patriots cover, we'll be in trouble."

Isolated night games typically produce the most risk for the books, because there is nothing else to bet on and wagers are funneled to either the side or total — or two-team parlays that pay 13-to-5. The more betting options, the more favorable the situation is for the books, because bettors are greedy and try to hit six- or seven-team parlays at high odds — wagering options that always give the edge to the house.

This weekend, the books will have to deal with essentially three isolated games — the Patriots-Jets, Steelers-Bengals on Sunday night and Lions-Bears on Monday night.

Rood says that he hasn't yet seen a fraction of the action that he’ll end up getting on this game from the visitors that arrive in town Friday to all of his popular books across the strip like Mandalay Bay, Bellagio, Aria, MGM and Mirage. But he does think bettors respect Ryan, and that could alter his initial thought of the public being totally one-sided on the Patriots.

"You either love him or hate him, but we've seen money respect him here over the years," Rood said. "People like his outlandish quotes and predictions, giving them some assurance that at least the coach is fired up for the game they're betting on."

Following the Jets’ 35-9 win against the Colts last Sunday, Ryan was chipper as ever and offered several inspired thoughts to the media. While predicting a Jets win against the Patriots, he backed off his training camp claim that he's the best coach in the league and said that distinction belongs to Belichick.

"You also have the Patriots coming off a loss, one that saved our Sunday last week, and burned the public more than any other game," Rood said of the Seahawks’ last-minute, 24-23 win over New England. "Will they buy into them again this week? Probably. But Ryan does bring that X-factor into the equation as bettors go through their own handicapping process."

The good news for the Jets is that Shonn Greene got going last week against the Colts, running 32 times for 161 yards and three touchdowns.

The bad news is that Mark Sanchez threw for only 82 yards. Granted, he wasn't needed much because the Jets were in control. But 82 yards is 82 yards.

Tim Tebow has been woven into the Jets’ offensive system increasingly over the past two games and could find himself in a new role: relieving Greene in the backfield because back-up running backs Joe McKnight and Bilal Powell are out.

While the Jets’ 3-3 mark looks nice atop the AFC East with the Patriots, Dolphins and Bills, they have faltered in all three games against perceived good opponents. They won against the Bills and Colts at home and barely beat the Dolphins on the road, but they lost to all three teams they faced that made the playoffs last season.

The Patriots fall into the latter category, and should have the same type of success the Steelers, 49ers and Texans had against the Jets this season.

Although the Patriots are 3-3 as well, their body of work is far more impressive than the Jets'. True, they have beaten only the Titans, Bills and Broncos, but their offense, led by a balanced attack with 152 yards rushing per game, is No. 1 in the league. They've also been very opportunistic with a plus-10 turnover margin, the best in the AFC.

The Patriots have covered four of their past six games against the Jets and the total has gone OVER in five straight meetings between the teams coming into Sunday's game. After starting the season off with two straight UNDER games, the Patriots have sent their past four OVER the number.

Look for the Patriots offense to force their tempo onto the Jets, setting a fast pace and making the Jets play catch-up. The Linemakers on Sporting News like the Patriots to win by double-digits and cover the number on Sunday.

Micah Roberts is a former Las Vegas sports book director who covers sports from a gaming perspective: You can follow him on Twitter @MicahRoberts7.